Journal of Facade Design and Engineering - Volume 1, issue 1-2

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ISSN 2213-302X (P)
ISSN 2213-3038 (E)

The Journal of Facade Design and Engineering presents new research results and new proven practice of the field of facade design and engineering. The goal is to improve building technologies, as well as process management and architectural design.

This journal is a valuable resource for professionals and academics involved in the design and engineering of building envelopes, including the following disciplines:

The journal will – initially - be directed at the scientific community, but it will also feature papers that focus on the dissemination of science into practice and industrial innovations. In this way, readers explore the interaction between scientific developments, technical considerations and management issues.

Abstract: RELEVANCE: The value of any intervention in the built environment is most relevant for the stakeholders that are investing in it. For them all costs need to be balanced with benefits - not necessarily directly financial, but adding value to the performance of the accommodated organization. Business cases contain performance criteria like competitive advantage (branding the organization), productivity (optimally supporting users of the building), profitability (on organizational level) and sustainable development (monitoring the ecological footprint). In the changing real estate markets – from supply-driven to demand-driven and with increasingly higher vacancy rates – priorities in decisions about buildings have been…shifting. PURPOSE: This paper elaborates on how (a) the trends in real estate markets and (b) changing priorities in decision making affect the quality demand for buildings and their facades. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This paper is based on research of the Real Estate Management chair in general (market analysis, transformation trends, conceptual frameworks) and more specifically on decisions about university campuses in the past 10 years (14 campuses and 57 buildings assessed). FINDINGS: This paper provides both conceptual frameworks to assess the (added) value of interventions in the built environment for the client and their (changing) priorities in the brief for buildings and their facades.
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Abstract: Process mapping can lead to significant efficiency and quality improvements in construction engineering and is an ideal basis for developing IT support tools. The increasing complexity and multidisciplinary nature of façade design and construction suggest that a process map would be beneficial in this sector of the construction industry, but it has received limited attention to date. This paper presents a verified process map of the façade design and construction process. The map is the first of its kind to represent, in detail, the whole process relevant to all façade types, from commencement of the façade consultant's and contactor's participation,…to the end of their involvement. The paper describes the process by which the mapping notation was selected, followed by the development and verification of the process map, including testing in two independent research projects. The BuildingSMART's BPMN notation is found to have superior system features and comprehensibility for this application and the resulting process map is easy to interpret and verify by industry experts. The trialling of the map in the two research projects indicate that the map is a useful tool for assessing process improvements in the façades sector.
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Abstract: This paper is part of a general research project whose main objective is to establish a baseline for post-occupancy energy consumption and indoor environmental quality for office buildings in Santiago, Chile. This study aims at understanding how architectonical variables relate to, and can even determine, user comfort perception. Thus, one-year continuous monitoring in several floors at four office buildings was performed and seasonal surveys were completed. Survey participants were asked a series of questions regarding spatial orientation and comfort perception in their workspace. The data from the comfort survey and onsite measurements such as season of the year, case study,…type of workspace and possibility of an outdoor view from the workstation were contrasted with the components obtained by a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Three components were selected from the PCA, and three Maps of Perception (MP) were produced. These maps were then analyzed and interpreted so as to obtain information on the general perception of thermal and lighting comfort at workspaces within several office buildings in Santiago.
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Abstract: Environmental, commercial and societal developments in the Netherlands stimulate the environmental improvement of the existing office building stock. In the Netherlands, about 15% of all office area was vacant in 2012, and the majority of offices have a relative poor energy performance. To measure the improvement, different assessment tools are applied. These tools either focus on one aspect, such as operational energy, and result in a specific outcome such as MJ/m2 , or these tools combine different aspects, such as energy and materials, through a weighted system and result in a generic outcome, such as ‘excellent’. In this research, the…relation between assessment outcome and actual environmental impact is investigated of both types of tools, by reflecting the outcome of the tool to the carrying capacity of a system. The relation is investigated through a comparison of the energy and material aspect of three office façade renovation solutions using four different assessment tools. Using a tool in which energy and material impact is related to the carrying capacity, current energy focused optimization might lead to a sub optimization of actual environmental impact. To illustrate this, a calculated façade solution is presented with minimal environmental impact based on carrying capacity.
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Abstract: Acrylic glass is omnipresent in the industrialised world; but as a building material most architects, facade planners and engineers are still unfamiliar with this material. In most cases it is applied as a substitute for glass which leads to inappropriate joints and fixtures. During the years of the path toward the digital era, the authors were in the fortunate position to be involved in several unconventional glass and acrylic glass projects. On the basis of their most recent project, the facade of the Vitra VSL Factory by SANAA Architekten, they describe the development of a facade for which they chose…acrylic glass not as a substitute for glass but rather as a conscious material choice. Since the entire facade is it was possible to apply the manufacturing technology of deep-drawing, allowing for very thin wall thicknesses.
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Abstract: This paper argues for a new critical approach to the ways architectural design strategies are developing. Contemporary construction industry appears to evolve into highly specialized and optimized processes driven by industrialized manufacturing, therefore the role of the architect and the understanding of the architectural design process ought to be revised. The paper is based on the following underlying hypothesis: ‘Tectonic thinking – defined as a central attention towards the nature, the properties, and the application of building materials (construction) and how this attention forms a creative force in building constructions, structural features and architectural design (construing) – helps to identify…and refine technology transfer in contemporary industrialized building construction’. Through various references from the construction industry, business theory and architectural practice the paper offers various analyses, comparisons and concrete design approaches. How architectural design processes and the tectonic design can benefit from Integrated Product Deliveries, mass-customization and Design for Disassembly is examined and discussed. The paper concludes by presenting a series of arguments that call for adaptable systems based on sufficient numbers of industrialized building products of high quality and a great variety of suppliers, and point at the need for optimizing our use of resources in order to reach sustainable solutions in architecture.
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Abstract: The rapid developments in molecular sciences like nanotechnology and self-organizing molecular systems generate a wealth of new materials and functions. In comparison to electronics the application in architecture remains somewhat underexposed. New functionalities in optics, responsive mechanics, sensing and adjustable permeation for gases and water might add to new opportunities in providing for personal comfort and energy management in houses and professional buildings. With a number of examples we demonstrate how complex but well-controlled molecular architectures provide functionalities worthwhile of being integrated in architectural designs. Optical coatings are capable of switching colors or reflectivity, creating possibilities for design but also…for the control of thermal transmission through windows. They respond to temperature, light intensity, or both. Selectively-reflective thin polymer layers or paint pigments can be designed to switch between infrared and visible regions of the solar spectrum. Coatings can be designed to change their topology and thereby their appearance, of interest for in-house light management, or just for aesthetic appeal. Plastic materials can be imbued with the property of autonomous sun tracking and provided morphing behavior upon contact with moisture or exposure to light. Many of these materials need further developments to meet the requirements for building integration with respect to robustness, lifetime, and the like, which will only be accomplished after demonstration of interest from the architectural world.
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